Silhouette
by YourFlawedDesign
Summary: One year has passed since Mammon's death, and Bel had already gone through enough trouble trying to accept it. Things start to get more complicated as some mint haired little toad joins the Varia. B26, BelFran, BelMammon, included XS.
1. Prologue

"**Silhouette"**

**Prologue**

**+Silhouette+**

_It was still dark out when Mammon shifted from under the blond's arm. Sighing, he released the illusion, and growled inwardly at the curse he had to face as he entered the reality of an Arcobaleno. Fantasma hopped from its resting place onto its owners head._

_The violet haired man looked back at the sleeping prince. In all honesty, Mammon found him annoying. That child refused to let go of the fact he held no power, his country had fallen, and he had no title; he still referred to himself as royalty and used that title as an excuse for everything. Still, for some unknown reason, Bel loved him. Mammon admired him a bit, his slight insanity excited him; Prince the Ripper was wild, untamed. He did not love Bel._

_No, he did not love Belphegor. He could tell the blond loved him though. He admired the illusionist, help him perfect the solid form of his 'once self'. He reached out to him, and showed more emotion towards him than he had ever done with the others._

"_But I don't love you." He muttered to himself as he looked back at the room, leaving it. "I toy with you. I humor you… And you're an idiot for loving me." Sighing, he went into his own room and locked the door behind him._

This routine… It had been going on for awhile. Ever since they had perfected Mammon's 'once self' illusion…

**+Silhouette+**

_Bel snickered to himself as he peeked into the room. The lock really hadn't been hard to pick, he just wondered how long it would take for the small illusionist to notice him._

_He looked around the room from his spot beyond the door before freezing. In front of the Arcobaleno's mirror stood… Mammon? He looked… human. Taller, hood down, royal purple hair splayed and messy… Electric lavender eyes stared at the reflection, concentrating hard. A hand reached out to the reflection, and much to both of their disappointment, the hand disappeared as it touched the glass._

"_No…. No, damn it so close!" the Mist blew up, breaking the mirror in a rage, and earning a startled croak from Fantasma. Tears were biting at the Arcobaleno's eyes. "Fuck…"_

_The illusion fell, unstable, leaving the small Mammon behind._

"_Harder… I have to try harder…"_

"_Ushishishi, my my, what will the captain say after he sees the mess you have made." Bel teased, pushing the door open._

"_You…! If you're going to watch a master at work, it's going to cost you!"_

"_Maybe I can help."_

He didn't know how he could help when he had offered it. It took another year for the illusion to become solid, and Mammon could parade around as… well, himself.

But, it was draining. It took too much energy, and it was difficult to keep stabilized. In the end, he could only really do it around the Varia mansion.

Around Bel, mostly…

Which the blond liked. This way, his … _obsession_… wouldn't seem as odd. He didn't look like the baby he'd become trapped as; he was a normal size… normal touches, normal… physical interaction.

It was the least Mammon could do to repay the prince for… doing the best they could to break that god forsaken curse.

That is… until the hunt….

**+Silhouette+**

_He was pushed back into the red sheets. Red sheets… he almost remembered when Bel's bed had been white. After a while, they had grown tired of being asked why the room was blood-soaked. Red hid it all better._

_It was the least Mammon could do… He loved Bel's sadism…_

_He was forced into the pillow, hardly able to breathe through it, but he didn't care. He stopped thinking about the position too much._

_Biting down his neck, the prince left his marks, claiming him; nails ran down his back, leaving claw marks and goose bumps at once. A low moan escaped the illusionist, and Fantasma disappeared into its hiding spot._

_An arm snaked under the dark hair; used to the hint, his mouth opened and took the fingers in, sucking the digits teasingly, getting the earned noise from the fallen prince._

_It was just a distraction. Teeth clamped down as he was entered, unprepared, bleeding…_

_It was different… actually having sex compared to a realistic illusion._

_Yes, actual sex. The illusion he usually used, the one that didn't come with pain, nor much feeling at all, was gone; wasn't needed. The years have been harsh… painful. His muscles had been aching as the Arcobaleno's were hunted and the Non Tri-Ne-Set waves had caused him to start to grow… to age again… a bit younger and slower than he hoped… he just couldn't believe he had once wanted this! Immobilized for some time due to the pain he had been in not long ago at all._

_The current pain made him cry out, tears watering as the blond started to move, his love's hurt unnoticed. It was the only time Mammon had ever questioned Bel's feelings towards him._

**+Silhouette+**

Yes, the hunt… the hunt of the Arcobaleno, the Vongola… it was growing out of hand. Finally, the time came.

_Mammon moved in the embrace of the man who loved him, violet eyes looking him over._

"…_You've grown." He said lightly._

"…_So have you." Bel was still half asleep. Once straight blond hair had turned into wild locks, he had gotten taller… And yes, Mammon had started to grow with him. Despite his actual age, his body said he was only eighteen. Much younger than he should have been._

"…_You know."_

"_I'm a genius…" His voice sounded so heartbroken. How could he leave him?_

'_Because I don't love him.' He sighed inwardly at the secret he had kept hidden from the self-proclaimed genius. Sometimes he wondered if Bel knew that too._

"…_I'll come back."_

"_I know." Yes, Bel was sure he would come back. The Mist wasn't as positive. Mammon brushed the blond locks out of the way, looking down at the secret only he knew. The beauty the prince held locked away from everyone but him… Before he knew it, he was caught back up into strong arms._

_A passionate kiss. No beast was in control this time. Just Bel. Not Prince the Ripper. Bel was the one who loved him._

_He returned the kiss, as always. When it died, slowly for the younger's sake, Mammon was able to pull himself away._

**+Silhouette+**

That was it. That was all there was. No love. No, unrequited love.

"_Viper… You're going to make it out of here!"_

He had promised to return.

"_Fuck… No, damnit Colonello…!"_

He never intended…

_He could only stare up as pain rocketed through his body, crying out as his mind numbed._

…to keep his promise to Belphegor.

**"**_**YOU'RE A LIAR!"**_

_"CALM DOWN! WHERE ARE YOU GOING? __**VOOIII**__, I'M TALKING TO YOU!"_

**"**_**I DON'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO THIS BULLSHIT!"**_

_The door slammed, Prince the Ripper escaped into the night, knives at the ready, eyes wide, the Prince Belphegor locked up in his head crying._

He didn't know what he had done.

"_Ushishishi… Ushishishishishi! USHISHISHISHISHI!" Laughter echoed off the building walls. Blood was being splattered left and right. Screaming. Maniacal laughter cracked in his voice as his own skin grew tainted and stained with the rust-colored coppery tasting liquid._

He didn't know he had killed hundreds of innocent people by killing himself.

**+Silhouette+**

"…_Look… The boss says we'll get you out when you calm down… When we can figure something out." He looked down at his officer, biting his lip in worry._

_"Ushishishi…" He just rocked, unable to do much else._

"_What you did… It was reckless. It was stupid! It was just wrong! Are you even aware of that?"_

_"__**SHUT UP ALREADY! SHUT UP!**__" The silver haired man shivered lightly, feeling the pure hatred emit off the youngest Varia in waves as his head snapped up and looked directly at him through those bangs. "…Get out."_

_"Listen you-!"_

**"**_**GET OUT!"**_

**+Silhouette+**

He didn't know he had caused the only person who loved him to be locked away for almost a year… in a straight jacket… away from the only place he had ever been able to call home.

_"Alright you idiots listen up!"_

He didn't know there would be another…

_"His name is Fran. Belphegor!"_

"_What?"_

_"You'll get to be the lucky one to look after him!"_

"_WHAT?" The blond looked over at the mint-green haired boy, glaring. "He shouldn't even be here!"_

_"Too damn bad!"_

He didn't know there would be another replacement to fill out his silhouette.


	2. The Small Frog

"**Silhouette"**

**Chapter 1**

"**The Small Frog"**

**+Silhouette+**

It was obvious to anyone that the two weren't going to get along well. In a way, the new member didn't mind. He could tell off the bat that his new sempai didn't like him. The way he acted like a caged animal... someone had hurt him.

It was Fran's first day and he already knew this. He didn't care. Anything was far better than his training for the day.

_-The Small Frog-_

_The teal haired one looked around the cold cell, shivering. Before him stood a man in a white lab coat and black gloves. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't remember the actual face of the man. It wasn't really important. He could tell this was __not__ his Master. The way he spoke showed his Master was, indeed, controlling this man, but this could not be his true form._

_"Alright Fran, just relax," His voice came to him softly._

_He almost laughed. Relax? As if. Cuffs kept his wrists against the chairs arms and ankles to the legs. Relax? He was just rigid. However, he couldn't show it. A __lot__ of his training was to show no reaction, hide his thoughts. He could not reveal to the Varia that he was a spy._

_Instead, he let his mind go blank; wander. His mothers smiling face, his father's strong arms..._

_He flinched away from the metal needle heading straight towards his pupil, a small whine managing to escape him._

_Wrong move._

_A sigh came from the man before him, soon followed by a rough slap across the face that almost tipped him and the chair over._

_**"Fran!"**_

_"I-I..." He took a deep breath. Calm... relax... no emotion... His eyelids lowered. "I am sorry Master. It won't happen again."_

_"I know it __won't__. Not with this." he flicked the needle again, checking it. "Now...__hold still__."_

_He let everything go. Thought, feelings, emotion, reminding himself it would not hurt. He slipped into oblivion safely._

_Then he felt it. His body instantly relaxed. The pain of the slap disappeared completely. The cold of the cell was no longer biting into his worn clothes._

_Numb. Fran's entire nervous system had become numb._

_"Try seeing how it's reacting."_

_He hadn't noticed the cuffs were removed. Hesitantly, he stood. He was much more aware of each muscle movement; they stayed unaffected._

_"...Everything's fine, Master."_

_"Good. It won't stay completely numb permanently. I give it a month before it dies down. Being in the Varia, you'll be able to get your hands on the materials needed easily. Just keep in mind, I pricked your mind; your nerves will always be __dulled__. Its strength will waver as time goes on, but your reaction and nervous system will always be slower."_

_"...I'll get you out soon," The smaller promised, looking past the 'doctor' to what he knew was his Master. He knew there was gratitude, to a small degree, just like he knew he was being used; a pawn._

_It earned him another quick backhand. This time, he didn't even flinch._

_"Excellent. Now... Get out of my sight._

_-The Small Frog-_

He must have looked like he had been deep in thought; before he realized it, the blond Captain Squalo had pointed out to him was... possibly glaring? ... At him.

"-the hell is wrong with you, are you even listening?"

"...I'm sorry sempai, what were you saying?"

"I have a name!"

"...I don't recall it sempai."

The blond growled in disgust and pushed him against the nearest wall.

That's when the mint haired boy noticed they had been _walking_... When did they start walking? ... and were alone in a hallway, who knew how far away from the safety of... as close to safety as you could get - Squalo.

A knife was at his neck- okay, where had he gotten a knife? The time to pay attention was far overdue now.

"Listen you little shit, I don't like you. You shouldn't even be here! You don't belong here! You're just a _replacement_! You'll never be as good as Mammon! As long as you keep that in your head, I'll continue to let you live."

Even though the Officer had a hand on his shoulder and a hand with a knife pressed against his neck, when Fran reached out to touch his arm and ask him to let go, he noticed a flinch. It was small, but enough. He did not like it when others touched him...?

"Prince Belphegor," The taller growled, moving away from the illusionist.

"Fran-"

"I don't give a shit." He smirked widely before turning and disappearing into a room.

Yes... someone had hurt the older one...

The mint haired boy turned to find another door near him and pushed it open.

An empty room. Well, almost. There was a bed, dresser, mirror and closet. But there was no warmth. In fact, it was cold... hollow... His cell had been warmer.

He didn't feel welcomed in the room at all...

"...Who was Mammon...?"


	3. Night Walker

"**Silhouette"**

**Chapter 2**

"**Night Walker"**

**+Silhouette+**

_He was __suffocating__. He could feel the hand on his neck pressing against his windpipe and forcing him into the wall._

_His head lolled back at the lack of oxygen and the struggle of his lungs trying to get air._

_"__**Keshesheshe, idiot Bel, you lose again**__."_

The Prince snapped up, eyes searching the dark room for some source of comfort, just to come up empty.

"Shishishishi... how stupid of me." Rasiel was dead, that stupid cockroach, and so was Mammon. Nothing to fear, and nothing to comfort the fear that wasn't there. How _empty_...

The blond stood up and pulled his pants and the shirt from yesterday on, wanting to get out of the slowly closing in room for fresh air.

The Storm took to getting rid of useless grunts who had angered him, Xanxus, or Squalo to blow off steam. If they were going to be annoying and useless, no one would miss them, not to mention how easily they were replaced.

He started wandering the dark halls for misbehaving pains that were out past midnight. The loud crash up the stairs ahead of him only made the Prince smirk at prey that was so easy to find.

The silver knife glistened in the light from the open window curtain onto its target.

"Ow, Sempai, that hurt."

God damn it. That monotone brat again.

"What the hell are you doing up here?"

"I believe I'm in the process of getting lost, Bel-Sempai. Could you help me?" The mint hair could be seen, washed out to look almost silver when he passed a window.

"As if," The older boy hissed, heading back down the staircase. What a waste of time. The little brat could get lost and die in the mansion for all he cared; it was none of his business. Hopefully, they'd stop trying to replace Mammon once this piece of shit disappeared.

"S_eeeem_pa-!" the younger one's annoying elongation of the elders title was cut short as he fell over the wire Bel had set up when he first came out, and crashed into the knife-and-wire trickster.

"Ow... Why is that even there? What if long-haired captain tripped on it?"

"Who gives a fuck? Stop following me!" The prince stabbed at the mint haired again, pushing him off.

"I could have fallen down the steps again..."

"Shishishi, so what?" The new Mist looked rather funny, teal hair in disarray, and knives scattering his night-wear black tank top and shorts like a porcupine.

"I don't think the long-haired captain would be happy to put the new Guardian in the infirmary..."

"Tch, _Squalo_ has been in the infirmary tons of times, you should go at least once, and die there," He growled, walking along the hallway to leave the fifteen year old there.

"Bel-Sempa-" The younger was shut up when the annoyed blond threw the knife again, hitting the youngers chest, close to his heart.

It _hurt_! The pain kept ebbing at him; but Fran bit the tears, the cries, the whimpers, he held it all back, breathing slowly to try and keep it all hidden.

Bel kept walking down the hall.

"What a fucking _freak_."

The words didn't hurt Fran, but as soon as Bel disappeared in the darkness, he let out a tiny, self-satisfying whine and a few tears, slowly removing the blade. It wasn't in nearly as deep as an assassin as good as Bel would want it, meaning the blond had little intentions to kill him- er, kill him right _now_. However, he was still bleeding, and it had caused his fried nerves to act up.

"..._That really hurt_," He whispered to himself, voice quivering for a moment as he regained his control.

"..._Asshole_." He bent the knife in half, glaring coldly at it and tossing it in front of Bel's room before regaining his monotone mask and going back to bed.

**+Night Walker+**

Belphegor looked up through a curtain of blond hair as Fran came down the stairs the next morning, no showings of his attack on the kid last night. Damn, what a shame.

"Hey, _indésirables_, what's with the stupid hood?"

Fran had come downstairs with the hood up on his Varia jacket.

"I figured if you're going to throw more of your stupid shit at me, I should at least have a layer of protection..." Bel was surprised that, although it held a slight tone of sarcasm, it was still boringly monotone...

"Speaking of which..." the Prince threw a few more at him, watching as he flinched beneath the stings.

"You're completely acting like a child, Bel-sempai. Those hurt."

"Belphegor, you leave him alone!" The eldest Guardian was in the kitchen in front of the stove, Fran easily detecting the sweet smell of cinnamon and floating aroma of bacon.

"...Mama, what's for breakfast?" He asked, sitting next to the blond.

Fran felt himself fall as the chair disappeared from under him, the Prince with the back in his hand.

"...Mama said to leave me alone, Sempai."

Lussuria seemed to be loving his new nick name and hit the unsuspecting blond with the still-warm spatula.

Both missed the momentary smile on the Mists face as he got cinnamon toast and bacon and disappeared to another room to ignore the throwing of frying pans and kitchen knives.


	4. Who was Mammon?

"**Silhouette"**

**Chapter 3**

"**Who Was Mammon?"**

**+Silhouette+**

He wasn't sure how long this routine had been going on. He'd only been living in the manor for... say, two months? It couldn't have been happening for too long.

Every morning, Fran would force himself to get up, go downstairs, eat, and then continue to find a way to entertain himself. Every day, Belphegor would go look for him, find him, and remind him that he was _'unwanted'_. That, he could have lived with and gotten over if his Master would just respond to him. He knew that by now he should have been getting some type of training or instruction somehow. So far, he had yet to receive even the tiniest sign.

So, he just paid close attention to the Varia members, tried to remember everything that happened- until he realized it was really unimportant. As a new member, he was on probation and had to have a partner. Bel... well, he avoided him until found - and since they were partners, the blond had to "watch him", so they didn't really have any missions.

All in all, it would have been considered boring. If Bel hadn't made their game so intense, that is. Fran didn't even have to hide anymore. Just the other day he had been laying on the couch reading when some snickering idiot jumped and pinned him.

Even just moments ago, he had been walking down the hall back to his room and Belphegor decided he hadn't been moving nearly fast enough.

Now Fran was pinned between the striped shirted blond and the wall, a hand around his neck and a mouth of rough teeth uncomfortably close to his ear, whispers of death threats and how wise the teal haired kid would be if he just killed himself in the night. It sounded tempting... When he felt the sharp bite on his earlobe, the mint haired boy relaxed, knowing the ordeal was over. As expected, the knife wielding, circlet-wearing pain in the ass was gone.

He had started doing that... biting him, grabbing him. At first Fran thought it was just to get a reaction out of him- that might still be the case- but over two months you tend to learn things about the person you're around most... Willingly or not.

1. Belphegor liked to be in control.  
>2. He was a sadist with masochism tendencies.<br>3. He _had_ to be schizophrenic.  
>4. He did not like to be touched back.<br>5. He got claustrophobic.  
>6. He'd had mental issues before.<br>7. He had been [or even possibly still is] a sex addict.  
>8. He loved the smell of blood.<br>9. As much as he 'hated' Fran, he took out a lot of his frustration due to lack of sex, murder, and violence, on him.  
>10. Bel really believed himself to be royalty- whether that was in his head or not, Fran wasn't sure.<p>

They really weren't difficult deductions either, all of were backed up by psychological and physical proof.

"Mama," The mint haired had been looking forward to Lussuria's return from his mission, knowing that he would most likely be more helpful to his research. "Who was the person I succeeded?"

"Mammon?" The sun-glassed man looked up at him from the table, the paper work required to be done after a mission in front of him. He was never sure who he felt worse for, the person doing the work when they just wanted to get some rest when they returned home, or Squalo, who always had to go over the work and file it because their Boss would not. "Why do you want to know about him?"

"Well, shouldn't I?"

"...He was an odd guy," The brightly colored peacock nodded, wearily marking a corner on the paper as he thought. "Very secretive, very greedy. Really nasty and cruel when he wanted to be. He did his job amazingly well of course, but that doesn't mean he really got along with anyone. He seemed to be most comfortable around Belphegor since the ring battles though."

When he sighed, Fran thought it was at the reminder of the Varia's large loss- despite their win of the battle. "Played that poor child's heart like harp strings."

Wait a second...

"What? You mean Bel-sempai and Mammon...?"

"Oh yes. It's not really encouraged to- well do anything with someone in the family, but Xanxus doesn't really set a good example, and it kept Bel out of trouble with his killing sprees so," He shrugged, filling in something on the paper.

"Wasn't the previous Mist an Arcobaleno?"

"Yes, but he was an illusionist hun, and human. Not to mention he started to change when those radiation waves were released. I could never figure out why Mammon went along with the relationship. Bel had been infatuated since he was younger. He joined us when he was eight you know."

"So I've heard..." He muttered. Luss was getting a bit off topic.

"When he started to realize Mammon wasn't aging, it wasn't hard to explain a bit more about him. They were usually teamed up to cause some sort of trouble. Even when he was so cold to Bel, he'd usually just ignore it... Wait, why so curious though?"

"I simply wanted to know more about him. Bel-sempai won't stop bringing him up," He sounded bored, but really, this shone a light on a good number of things. "...I think I'll let you be now, mama." he waved once before heading out of the room. As if just remembering the bastard had actually bitten him, he moved his hand up and pressed the spot lightly.

"...Really, what attention seeking behaviors. Poor fake prince really needs a hobby." He didn't keep his voice down, actually being louder as he walked down the hallway.

As expected, he felt a knife stab into the back of his hood, it's tip scraping against his scalp.

"Ow Sempai. That hurt." His voice was kept monotone, unable to actually fully feel the effect of the metallic weaponry.


	5. Difficult

"**Silhouette"**

**Chapter 4**

"**Difficult"**

**+Silhouette+**

He was starting to get much better at this. Instead of wearing the sleek black and fuzzy hood 24/7, Fran was now only slipping it over his teal locks when he could sense the knife wielder nearby. He could dodge if he wanted to, but he feared he'd start throwing more than one if he dared evade it.

In retaliation to this tactic, he got something even worse.

"Pack up." The gruff command came from the twenty-three year old as he passed the smaller boy, shoving him back into the room he had been walking out of.

"Stupid prince. You can't get rid of me that easily you know."

"Tch. I'm not an idiot! Sadly, you've proven to be a smarter foe then that. We're going on a mission. _Alone~_."

Fuck. He was going to be killed.

****Meretrice?****

"This is a mission?" Fran asked, bored, leaning against the wall looking over the crowed in the streets.

"No, it's grunt work."

"Then why are we here?"

"It's your first mission. Have you ever even _killed_ anyone before?"

"I'm in the Varia, aren't I?"

"That doesn't mean anything."

"I have."

"On purpose?"

The question left Fran silent for a moment, before he turned back to the blond. "Pay attention."

The Prince shook his head. Fran could almost picture him rolling his eyes - except he had no idea what color they would be.

Fran peeked past the pillared wall again. "Isn't that our guy?"

Bel looked over, nodding. "Yup. Leaving the building, completely at ease~. The young and ever-so talented Amir, young boss of a tiny four-member family trying to recruit a gang against us. Uggggh, it's _waaaaaay_ too _eeeeaaaaaasy_..." He dragged out the words due to boredom.

"Good, let's get it over with then..."

"Pull your hood down, you look suspicious. And stupid." The blond pulled the white fuzzy hood down.

"Hey..."

"We should make this more interesting." The blond smirked, unbuttoning Fran's jacket as well.

"Can't we just get it over with?"

"Ushishishishi~ That wouldn't be any fun at all~!" A large grin crossed his face as he blond moved from their spot first, heading towards the target.

"Bel - wait." Fran started to wonder if the insane man was about to purposely blow their cover.

Fran froze as he saw the twenty-three year old _chatting_ with the target, and _pointing at __him__._ Before Fran knew it, the fifteen year old was faced with the two of them

"_Bukankah dia cantik_?* " Bel purred, getting a nod. Unfortunately, one of Fran's seven chosen languages* hadn't been Malay-Indonesian, and he didn't understand what was happening. "_Dia hanya bisa mengumi anda dari jauh, dia sangat suka hasil kerja anda_.*_Dia sangat pemalu. Dia tidak bisa berbahasa Malay sama sekali!_*"

Fran wasn't really sure how he had gone from spying behind a wall to being the focus of attention, but he broke out of his trance when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

It was a simple reaction really; grabbing the man's wrist and bending it back. The feel of a bullet whizzing past him from behind just pushed him into auto pilot

The illusionist ducked, watching Belphegor quickly put a knife to their targets neck - saying something Fran could only assume was to call off the gunman.

A flash of silver like that in public could cause a bit of a public disturbance. Feeling the next bullet graze his arm, Fran set up a small illusion - a simple magic trick to make them 'disappear' so to speak.

In ten seconds flat, Fran and his older partner had moved on - leaving the dead body of their grunt work worthy target in the streets of Milan.

"Why do you have to make things difficult?"

"Because otherwise it's no fun, so why the fuck not?" He smirked proudly.

***Meretrice? = Italian for a female prostitute.**

**1. Isn't she beautiful?**

**2. She just couldn't help but admire you from afar - my sister just loves your work.**

**3. She's extremely shy - she doesn't speak a lick of Malaya!  
>[Yes, he is introducing Fran as a female. At a young age, breast size isn't always big and it's a 'fun way to demean the little toad'.]<strong>

***You must know at least Seven languages to join the Varia. It is a requirement. Fran, being French, knows French, Italian, English, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, and Japanese. [Or at least in this fanfiction. Those are some of the top languages - I added French, Japanese and Italian because... he's in a mafia in Italy, Mukuro's in Japan, and he was born French so...]**

**Also, for the Malaya part- I am sorry if there is any mistranslation. If you can translate it better, please do so and tell me. I couldn't find a difference in 'he' and 'she'.**


	6. Secrecy

"**Silhouette"**

**Chapter 5**

"**Secrecy"**

+Silhouette+

"So, I'm going to be stuck with you?" Fran asked, sighing as he looked at the folder between them, then up to the blond.

"Sadly. And you better do well; I'm tired of grunt work. At least _Mammon_ was never so pathetic."

_'Why don't you just stab me?'_ He thought, frowning. "I don't have any say above Xanxus', you know."

"So prove you're better." Belphegor growled in annoyance, standing up. "I can't wait for your first mission alone; it'll give the Prince some peace!"

"I don't see the need for putting on a show when you're just going to kill them anyway. Have you ever had a hostage?"

"Of course I have! They just never last long, _Ushishishi_. The same fate awaits you, toad."

"You're going to die young, Sempai."

"What was that!"

Fran didn't even wince at the new piercing; it hardly went through the Varia uniform, let alone skin.

"I think I'm going to get some rest before we continue. That plane trip was tiring." The mint haired boy stood, bending the knife and leaving it on the table before plopping himself onto one of the beds.

He had to admit, a mission in Spain had been a nice change of pace. All the other missions over the past two months had been absolute 'grunt work'. They would have been easy if his partner hadn't been changed each time.

Though back at home Lusseria had been a good way to escape the fake-prince's antics; on a mission, he was something he wanted to get away from. When he wasn't doting on him, he was hitting on other men or getting too close for his own comfort.

At least with Levi, both parties had a mutual agreement not to talk to each other and to get the mission done quickly as possible.

He only considered himself lucky Squalo didn't have time for him.

So now, here he was, his first mission out of Italy, sharing a hotel room with a psychotic sociopath. He was sure it would be hard sleeping...

**+Secrecy+ **

Surprisingly, sleep came easy. He was left alone in a dreamless world until he realized he was being _pulled_.

_"Kufufufu. My, my, little one... It's been too long since our last__ chat."_

_"Master?"_ His voice echoed almost as much as the others. Was it really him? It was about time! _"Where-!"_

He stopped, surrounded by nothing but soft gray tones. ... By Mist.

_"You are quite difficult to reach. What have you been up to, little one?"_

He frowned. Was he really out of reach, or was that an excuse?

_"Where are you now?"_

_"Spain."_

There was a sound of acknowledgement. _"... How about your shots?"_

_"...Ah..."_ Fran hadn't even thought of the nerve-damaging shots... _"...I... haven't needed them."_ So far, none of Bel's stabbing had harmed him too much, so he must still be strung up.

_"...Be careful. I don't want to come to find my precious little apple child has gone and gotten himself killed."_

_"Of course not, Master."_

It was an odd conversation for the teal haired boy, talking to air and unable to really see Mukuro. There also wasn't much to say - he wondered if the man had somehow reached out to him to just test their link and found out by accident that it was active. Nothing else much was said except for the discussion on how Fran was blending in - which was to say, relatively well, considering... Even still, the young Mist didn't say much about the harassment and attention he was getting from Belphegor and Lusseria. In the end, the faceless entity was gone, leaving Fran to wake up, contemplating if it was worth opening his eyes...

**+Secrecy+**

Slowly, finding the room absolutely quiet, green eyes opened and searched the room. He saw the back of his current partner, his hair a mess and the circlet set aside. He actually seemed peaceful in his sleep... The enjoyment would have to be short lived though. Fran pouted to himself as he caught sight of the red numbers and letters, "10:32 P.M."

Pulling his hood up to save most of his head, Fran crept over to the next bed.

"...Bel-sempai," His dull voice broke the silence as he put a hand on the Storm's shoulder. "B_eeee_l-Semp_aaa_- Ow."

He looked down to see his hand had a new silver piercing, the body below him had shifted and he could feel the blond mans glare.

"...Shishi... don't surprise the prince, stupid frog." He sat up, stretching as he reached for the ring around the chain necklace. "Grab your shit, we gotta go."

"...I know, I'm the one who woke you." Fran sighed, going after him.

**+Secrecy+**

Fran shivered lightly at the sight. He had to admit - for a lowly mob he didn't expect them to be ready for the Varia. Oh well... the mission had been fun while it lasted...

They had managed to actually get into 'headquarters' - a rundown warehouse, - how cliché - and listened in to hear how they had their lovely scam on the Varia to branch out money all planned out. Unforgivably, they had been found out. And as expected, Belphegor had left him behind... Fran could now be seen clear from either end of the hall, currently surrounded by gunmen. Taken out by mob grunts on his last night of grunt work... oh the bittersweet irony.

"...Bel-sempai..." He called out, hoping the Storm was still nearby. "... Now would be a good time to come out..." He tried, getting a lot of snickers from the crowd around him. How rude... they were already going to kill him, why mock him as well?

He looked up when he heard the click of the safety, eyes widening as he was faced with the barrel.

_'Use an illusion!'_ He was frozen... _'Move!'_

_**BANG!**_

"_**FRAN**_!"

There was a whirl of red flame, engulfing the area and the screams of the grunts were just audible through the crackling of the fire.

The Storm was supposed to be gone to look for the target- take out the main man- when he lost Fran. The smaller member had insisted he would take out the other grunts, take out any obstacles for later. The boss wasn't hard to handle- some older guy with a gun and body guards, so original. When he had double backed to get the Mist, he came to find him getting shot through the head and collapsing on the ground. The Box Animals were still new, but if there were ever a good time to keep testing the waters, revenge was the right call.

Bel watched as the white mink started the rampage, setting the Storm Flames off. Bel growled and sunk his knife into the nearest opponent, dragging him down until the sick gurgling of drowning on blood reached him.

"…Why are you yelling, Sempai?" Belphegor jumped as he turned, almost running right into the smaller guardian.

"The fuck?"

"…Were you worried about _me_?" Fran's tone rose just a bit to disbelief. "…I _am_ an illusionist, Bel-sempai…"

"…Why didn't you kill them? Why was I left to kill your targets?"

"…It seemed easier…"

"Tch. You really can't kill anyone." Bel shoved the smaller boy, nearly getting him singed as he maneuvered out, Fran on his tail.

"Bel-sempai, what about his mess?"

"Let the clean up grunts deal with it," He grumbled. "…We're gonna go celebrate your first mission~!"

"Don't we have to head home?"

"Shut up frog." 

**+Secrecy+**

Fran let out one last grunt as he dropped the striped shirt prince onto his bed, getting an annoyed groan from him.

"Ya dun have'tah be so mean!" He hissed.

"…Hush sempai." He rolled his eyes, gasping as he felt himself being pulled onto the bed, a knife in his shoulder.

"An' where does toad thinks 'is going!"

Man, Fran was happy he hadn't taken anything to drink, he'd never be able to handle the Storm if they were both drunk. "I'm going to my bed, Bel-sem-!"

"Oh no no no!" The blond forced him down. "You are the Prince's new warm body pillow, and here you will stay!" Fran let out a surprised sound as he soon found himself pinned to the mattress by knives through his clothes. That would be easy to fix – but the blond had practically rolled himself onto the smaller. What an ass…

"Bel-sempai, I'm really not comfortable like this."

"_Shishi_, I wasn't asking…" He noticed how tired the older sounded. Well, that was fine with him. Between the mission, being dragged around Spain for drinks, and hauling the older guardian back to the room… passing out sounded like a good idea.

So, he'd have to be used like a body pillow, still uncomfortable due to extra weight because he didn't get a chance to remove his jacket. He'd move the blond once he was safely asleep… So, he stayed quiet and tried to listen to his heartbeat and breathing… in the end he found himself slipping into unconsciousness himself.

Then, as if no time had passed at all, he felt himself being shocked awake. He felt extra weight on him – and he was moved quickly flat on his back, rough hands on his shoulders to keep him pinned.

Looking up, green eyes saw the blond bangs. "…B…Bel-sempai?" He tested, noticing the uneasiness.

"….I-I… I'm sorry…." Wait, what? What's wrong with Bel? "…A-Are… are you okay?"

"…I'm fine Sempai. Why are you so worried?" It didn't seem like the blond heard him. Was he… it felt like all he was doing was _staring_ at him. It was unsettling! Suddenly the weight shifted and Bel was shaking, pressed against him, head practically buried against his neck. "S-Sempai!"

_"…M-Mammon.. I'm so confused… I hate this kid. He looks just like you… he's so.. I-I don't know what to do! … You should have just come back…"_

_'He thinks I'm Mammon?'_ Fran really wished he had gotten a look at his predecessor; did they truly look alike? In the meantime… there was a mess of sobbing Belphegor in his arms… all he could do was force himself to try and calm him.

_"I think I might love him."_

**+Silhouette+**

**AN: I'm holding chapters hostage. **If you want more chapters, leave a review. I'll start writing the next chapter after I get one, and I'll post it after I get a few more.


	7. Investigating

"**Silhouette"**

**Chapter 6**

"**Investigating"**

**+Silhouette+**

After his… er… _shocking_ discovery, Fran managed to wriggle free of the Storm Guardian's grip and make it to the safety of his bed. Still, the so-called 'frog' couldn't help but stare at the sleeping blond twenty-three year old from his bed.

He was _fifteen_ years old, and he had some creepy pervert coming after him! Because he _looked like __**Mammon**_. That just… okay, that actually hurt. Not because he liked Belphegor, but because… Well, how could he just think about using him like that?

The mint haired teen was stuck lying awake for hours, not sure he was able to sleep. Mentally, he made a note to find that list of 'ingredients' for the serum… he needed it bad, if anything to get his head cleared of these… these _emotions_.

Fran snapped out of his train of thought as he caught the sun breaking Spain's horizon. He searched for the clock and sighed. Carefully, and almost fearfully, the young Mist stood and stared at the self-proclaimed genius.

"…Bel-sempai…" he tried quietly. "….Bel-sempai."

Okay, this wasn't working. The illusionist huffed.

"_**Beeeeeeeeel-sempaaaaiii."**_ He said loudly, monotone.

"Shut the fuck up, or you'll have the honors of being splayed by Prince the Ripper!" The blond growled, shakily reaching out to grab the younger. The Mist simply took a step back and watched the hung-over Prince fall off the bed flat on his face. "_Fuck._"

"…Time to get up, fake prince. It's time to go." Fran moved over to his small suitcase, shedding the Varia uniform and changing into not blood-splattered clothes and heavy leather.

"…time is it?" the blond looked up, obviously not happy.

"As I said, stupid prince, time to go." He huffed. "And to get your hung-over ass on the plane home. I want a bath and my bed."

"Tch, show some respect!" his aim was off and the knife with Fran's name on it hit the wall next to him.

"….How sad." Fran almost smirked, packing Bel's baggage as well. "Come on fake prince-sempai. It's time to go home. I'm not doing the paper work, so you best sober up."

There was a very… displeased groan of dread as the man forced himself up.

**+Investigating+**

Fran had gotten his bit of pay-back for his rude demeanor this morning on the plane ride back, having the still sleepy and headache-pained 'prince' sprawl across their seats as he tried to rest and relax, feet uncomfortably close to the 'peasants' gut and lap for Fran to get comfortable.

Still, he did wind up falling asleep, and Fran quickly came to the conclusion the blond was much easier to deal with when he slept. Especially since he still wound up looking like a disturbed hedgehog by the time they got home, knives sticking off of him in very annoying places… He wished he had left his Varia uniform on…

"Oh Fran hunny!" The teal eyes looked up at the flaming flamingo, frowning.

"…Mama… fake-prince-sempai doesn't poison the tip of his knives, does he?"

"No! …. I don't think so… No, come here sweetie!" Lussuria pulled the small teen close, quickly taking care of him as a good Sun Guardian should. "Oh you're just fine sweetheart…"

"…Can I ask you something Mama?" Fran asked, relieved now that he knew his life wasn't in danger.

"Oh, sorry cutie, Levi and I are going out for a big thing in Russia. How 'bout when I get back, okay?"

"…Yeah…" the small teen sighed, watching the *green haired man hurry off to grab the lightning-mustachio.

Well… If the Gaylord couldn't help him, maybe long haired captain could…

**+Investigating+**

"That's personal information." The silver haired growled, practically ignoring Fran as he looked over a folder, muttering something about '_stupid Cavallone'_ under his breath.

"It's not like I'm asking for much," the Mist sighed.

"Ya don't need ta know it!" the shark grumbled. "Look kid, I'm swamped, that asshole upstairs wont fucking lift a_ finger_, the useless lapdogs gone, and- Look, just _no_!"

"…What about a picture?"

"Will you leave me the fuck alone if I do?"

Fran nodded. In a flash he was fumbling to catch the small picture Squalo threw at him.

"…I don't see how this Arcobaleno looks like… anything." Fran frowned at the tiny black coated thing in the picture. He couldn't see his face, his eyes… just a chibi face with purple markings _similar_ to his own.

"That's not my fucking problem!" he tried to ignore the loud voice. "_My_ problem is all this shit _I_ have to fucking do-"

"…. Have you had a heart attack yet, long-haired-captain?" The small mint haired boy asked, head cocked.

"VOI? What was that?"

"You just seem like you're too stressed. You may die sooner from stress then on the battlefield like a real swordsmen-"

" **VOOOIIIIII! **_**Get the fuck out of my office!"**_ Squalo roared. Needless to say, Fran stood up calmly and took his time walking out of the office before the Second-in-Command flipped his lid.

**+Investigating+**

So the long haired lady was no help… Fran sighed as he looked at the picture and shook his head. So what did Mammon look like then?

The young Mist looked up as he heard annoying snoring from the room he passed. Teal eyes zoomed in on the slightly cracked door before pushing it open _carefully_.

It was a dark room, and creepy. Everything seemed to be coated in a velvet red. Remembering who was home, Fran instantly realized this was that fake-prince's room. Bel himself was out like a light. Someone obviously couldn't hold as much alcohol as he thought…

"…Maybe you have something of Mammon?" he asked the snoring body, creeping into the room. After all, how could he pass up the chance? Luckily, it wasn't hard. Fran glanced over to the dresser and saw a picture set up there.

Fran moved closer, and couldn't help but smile lightly at what could only be called a 'family picture'. It had to have been later in the fall, and judging by his position, Lussuria had been the one who set the camera timer; he seemed to have just made it into the picture. Levi was, as expected, faithfully by his boss' side, and seemed to try and force himself between Xanxus and Squalo- the silver haired man looked annoyed as ever, though there was a sliver of a smile on his face. Fran hadn't seen Xanxus much at all, but the dark toned man looked content, a smirk on his face and a broken bottle close to Squalo's feet. And there, near the end of the picture was a young prince and a young teenage man.

Belphegor had an arm hooked around the purple haired person, whose wide violet eyes seemed to show off his frown more than his snickering smile. The blond was practically leaning on the young teen, his tongue sticking out and his middle finger thrown up in the air to flip off the camera. The teen wasn't approving, but he looked ready to chuckle at the Prince's action.

Fran looked closer and noticed… it had to be Mammon. An indigo pacifier hung from the necklace around their neck, their hair was messy as if their hood had been torn off, a white… frog-like creature was hanging around on their shoulder, and the purple markings near their eyes suddenly stood out to him.

…Mammon was grown huh? That meant the radiation… Byakuran had been on the loose, how did the Varia manage to celebrate? Fran looked around and realized… it did seem rather calm… Was he not being shown all the Varia had to offer?

He set the picture back down and glanced at the sleeping form of Belphegor. It… hurt… He knew he would never be that close to the Varia. Bel would always prefer Mammon to him, and maybe everyone else would too… He had no right to disturb the balance. He caught sight of the sleeping man shiver in his sleep and he remembered Lussuria telling him Belphegor had always been obsessed with the great illusionist, though the knife-wielder had been played like a fool.

_'Why did you care for him so much? Why are you still so hurt you feel the need to make me feel like crap?'_ he wondered.

Fran turned to leave, feeling unwelcomed… alienated… isolated… absolutely alone. Just as he passed the threshold, he froze, tears stinging at his eyes. There was that.. that _pain_…! A hand moved to his shoulder, feeling the knife made it's bed there.

"_Ushishishi._ Don't trespass, commoner!"

He didn't stop the sob that came out, unable to control it. Quickly, Fran ran back to his room, realizing he was actually _crying_.

**+Investigating+**

Bel stared after the figure in absolute confusion. Was… Fran crying? Fran didn't cry. That annoying brat never even showed pain when Bel stabbed him.

Frowning, the prince glanced over to the dresser where Fran had stood for minutes. He glared at the picture in absolute annoyance, eyes zoning in on the purple haired figure through a curtain of blond.

"…What a bitch." He growled, voice deep and cold, throwing a knife at the picture. Prince Belphegor smirked cruelly as Viper was struck with the knife, causing glass from the frame to shatter and the picture forever ruined with the knife embedded and making a hole. "Just going off and dying on the Prince. _Shishishi_."

**AN:**

*Let it be remembered that Luss' beautiful red wasn't added until later. Remember when Squalo shot his 'I'm awesome look at all the dudes' asses I can kick' movie for Yamamoto? Luss still had just green in his hair.

*There Lindsey, it's updated. You love me now?

We have our amazing Beta Vivacia18 who, despite not knowing much about KHR! at all, did an amazing job to do this! Please review giving us your love.


	8. Medicore

"**Silhouette"**

**Chapter 7**

** FREYA NYU LACIE: Tenia la esperanza de que te gustaba el capitulo! Habra mas sobre esto en breve~!**

** Ying69Yang: You can't use Japanese to hold a conversation that **_**Fran**_** wouldn't understand; he obviously does understand it since he later can speak with the Vongola. xD But I'm glad you like the story!**

** MadnessAndCoffe: OH NO ITS GODZIRRA! I have the internet back up and more chapters are on the way!**

** Byebii: Oh, thank you so much, that was so helpful! *glomps***

** Intrusive: Myeeeeah! Fine, I will write more! 3**

"**Mediocre"**

**+Silhouette+**

_Mint green eyes looked over the syringe with a twinge of doubt. The teen hadn't done this on his own before, and part of him told him he really should be afraid. What if he had gotten the measurements wrong? What if he just wound up hurting himself, or just as likely, overdosed?_

_ He quickly glanced up to the locked door, hearing booted feet move past it. He couldn't very well stay in there forever; eventually he'd be called on… He could only hope his lazy partner had done the proper paperwork so long haired captain wouldn't call for him too soon._

_ Teeth clamped around the end of the bandage, tightening its wrap around his forearm. Head trained back, he flipped the point of the needle and swiftly found the proper insertion place. He had to keep his eyes glued to the full syringe; he didn't feel the needle tip but he knew it was there. A sigh of relief escaped through clenched teeth, and the plunger was pushed down. Again, he had to keep his eyes trained on the solution, making sure his shaky hand moved slowly and that all of it was pushed in._

_ When the clear substance was released from its previous container, his jaw relaxed and the bandage was unraveled; the needle quickly thrown in the small wastebasket and the gauze rolled up for later use. _

_ With a small sigh of relief, the young Varia member lay back into his pillows, feeling his body start to go completely numb, and fell under a spell of emotional constipation; nothing mattered and he didn't give much of a shit about anything. He knew what was going to happen next, and before he allowed himself to fall asleep he quickly removed the heavy jacket and crawled lazily beneath the duvet._

**+Mediocre+ **

Fran heard the quick steps down the stairs, and in recognition he quickly pulled the leather coats fuzzy hood up, frowning. That fallen prince must have suspected he'd do so, and aimed for the pale fingers that were wrapped around his glass.

Teal eyes looked at the oddly carved knife that had its sharp tip embedded against the opposing side of his palm. He couldn't help but smirk slightly in satisfaction. Absolutely painless.

Still, he let his face go blank and turned to the busy blond in the kitchen, voice showing zero emotion. "Ow senpai, that really does hurt you know."

"Hush brat," the blond man growled, digging through the fridge.

"What is senpai looking for?" he asked, pulling the silver weapon out and tossing it out of the room with a clatter.

"I said _hush_ god damn it!" the Storm hissed. "Fuck, can't you _listen_?"

An eyebrow cocked and he followed what he could assume was the older man's gaze to the staircase. Ears strained; he knew he heard _something_. Maybe someone was stomping around upstairs? He'd only really seen their boss once or twice, but he knew he had a nasty temper.

"… The long haired captain is probably just talking to Boss."

"Ushishishi, that's not talking, stupid brat." Confused, the smaller moved to the doorway, ears straining to find what the other meant. He quickly pulled back, eyes averted down.

"… What does… that have to do with anything?" he quickly retreated back to his seat, hood pulled closer to block out any possible louder noises. He didn't really need to know about the boss and second in command having sex in the floor above them. What had Lusseria said about Xanxus being a bad example for relationships?

"Well, the shark-face is busy, so I'm raiding his food." The self-proclaimed prince shrugged. "For waking me up."

"You've been asleep this whole time? It's nearly noon."

"You woke me from my rest yesterday, and your sorry ass left me with paper work last night. Next time I'm doing that shit, I'm writing it in your blood, Ushishishi." The taller grinned widely, pulling out a plate of red velvet* that had been tucked away and hidden by the Sun for their captain.

"… Your first meal of the day; that isn't a very healthy choice." Fran said, finishing the glass of juice.

"Oh yeah, speaking of healthy choices, I'm supposed to take you to the training rooms today."

It sounded a bit too innocent; he'd been to the training rooms before… just not with Belphegor.

**+Mediocre+**

"_Move it!"_ Fran glared as he realized the fire had caught onto the unnecessarily fuzzy side of his hood.

"Bel-senpaaaai, what was that for?" he curiously looked over the white and red flurry that was going around the room, the older Varia member snickering to himself as he watched the rookie pat the small flames out.

"Shishishi, you're moving too slow; your ass is dead at that speed."

"I don't know. Bel-senpai might come and save me again." He watched the angry flurry disappear into the box the Storm held out. _'…What was that and when do I get one?'_

"Tch, don't count on it, _non desiderato_. If you can't keep yourself alive, you'll either be taken out by the enemy, or," Fran really must have not been paying attention to the older's speech, or Belphegor at all really. He looked up at the pause and swallowed in a nervous moment to see the ring of knives circling above him. Whoa, he could do that? "by one of us. Ushishishi."

"… Bel-senpai, when do I get a box?" he smiled inwardly to practically see the vein at Bel's temple throb.

"Useless brats don't get one."

**+Mediocre+**

Fran breathed out slowly, mind staying focused on the spot dead ahead of him. Inhale, exhale, concentrate, repeat. Slowly the air in front of him wavered, and a figure was taking shape. While it stood with little color, it was quite an odd thing to see. Still, and with the mantra practically repeating like a broken record, it's shape, color and form were shifting to match.

Pools of emerald opened slowly and the illusionist looked over his creation, smiling a bit.

"…Not bad. I wonder if you're as annoying as the real fake-prince-senpai." He said aloud to the illusion. He'd found no reason to practice Belphegor's form before, but the way training with the man had become more constant, he was sure Squalo was planning to send them out on another mission soon. This would come in handy.

"… Now for that thing." Eyes looked around slightly as he tried to replicate the way the Storm opened his box. Again, not bad. The only problem was he had no idea what that flurry of attacks had been. Instead he tried to make a copy of the fast ball of white and red and spread fake fire around.

"… Needs work," he decided, finding the knife-user easier to replicate when just using his main weapon. With an inward dismissal, the smirking illusion was gone. The fifteen year old sat down, playing absent mindedly with a few more illusions, most of them the other Varia.

"Shishishi, I think that growth on his face is a bit bigger." The mint haired jumped up; the illusion of Leviathon and exaggerated mustache disappeared. "Was I not supposed to be peeking?"

The blond's smirk was really starting to get on his last nerve, but he shrugged and sat back down. "…Tell me what you think of this."

His voice was bored, and after doing another quick sweep over the puzzled prince, he re-created the first illusion.

"Shishishi, not bad." Belphegor moved up closer to the figure, smiling broadly with what Fran could have mistaken as pride as the illusion mirrored him step for step. Then without warning a knife was plunged into the fake's side and was gone. "Not good either. Mammon knew how to make his illusions solid, yours are completely mediocre."

With that, the blond left, shaking his head.

Mammon. Why did the previous member _always_ come up? When he was sure the Storm really had left the room, his duplicate was created a third time, set still so Fran could just glare at it. He'd had enough of looking at that stupid smirking face and he jumped to his feet.

The punch made direct contact as the Varia member punched it, the illusion not failing under the contact or anything; instead it fell backwards.

"… Bel-senpai wouldn't be that easy to knock down." He frowned at himself, letting the fake slowly disappear before heading upstairs.

**+Mediocre+**

**AN: So, I hope that was a good enough update? Yes? Another mission and who knows what other fights in the next chapter, so please review!**

**And all should thank Vivacia18 for sticking with us!**


	9. Falter

"**Silhouette"**

**Chapter 8**

** BadApple: **** Why thank you. I've never heard that before, I like it! And thank you so much for the review, it's appreciated! **

** Yin69Yang:**** Hey, glad to keep you around!**

"**Falter"**

**+Silhouette+**

_ "You know, I hardly hear from you." Fran stated simply, frowning at the taller figure._

_ "I'm very busy, get used to that."_

_ "If I'm not going to hear from you, then what's the point of me being here anyway?"_

_ "__**Patience.**__" The mint haired shifted at the answer. "…Good luck on your new mission, little one."_

The waking world came slowly, the loud hum of the shower in the bathroom being the first thing to hit him. The water shut off just as he opened his eyes to glance around for the time.

"Why bother showering if you'll just get bloody again?" The illusionist jabbed as the knife wielder stalked out.

"Because blood dries, no need to coat it so thickly." The blond scoffed, jumping into the bed. The previous mission in Hong Kong had gone quickly and painlessly – well, for the most part- the only problem was on the way back to the Varia manor, they were redirected to Moscow for more issues to clean up. Belphegor hardly considered it a mission, it being known as 'grunt work' the grunts weren't trusted with.

"I wouldn't think you'd care." There hadn't been time to clean up before getting off the previous the flight, and they were already jet lagged; Fran was more than experienced as a traveler, but rest was nice. Their need to let their bodies regenerate outweighed getting into a fight that was more than simple banter with each other.

"If it's yours, I wouldn't mind." The taller smirked.

"… So what happens when a Varia member dies?" Fran asked, practically feeling the blond stiffen across the room.

"They die. What do you mean?"

"Do they just get replaced? If so, why isn't there a Cloud Guardian?"

"Ushishishi. Technically, our Cloud was half of the Ninth Vongola. Half of our Cloud is still alive, so we can't replace him."

"Are our families notified that we died? Will it look like an accident?" Fran pushed.

"How should I know?!" Bel growled, annoyed already. "My family's dead, and Mammon was the first to die."

"So you don't know?"

"Nope~! Why, not thinking of offing yourself, are ya? You may wanna at least let Squalo know in advance so he can find a new illusionist; and you should let me watch, ushishishi."

The younger looked off in annoyance, eyes burning a hole into the ceiling. "I thought you didn't want a replacement?"

"I _don't_."

**+Falter+**

"Do you ever wonder if you go a little overboard?" Fran frowned at the floor, toeing the closest limb.

"Impossible." The blond grinned widely, looking over the mangled bodies. "If they think they can cross us so easily, they need to learn better."

"I don't think they live long enough to learn anything."

"Quiet you." Bel moved the hand that was near his boot with a kick, smirking to himself. "Now we can go back home."

"Oh goodie, I can't wait." Teal eyes rolled, gladly taking the lead on leaving the warehouse. The Storm, however, refused to move from his spot. "…. Coming, Bel-senpai?"

"Hush." Fran wrinkled his nose in discontent, walking back towards the blond. He wished he'd be able to see _where_ he was staring, or what at. The warehouse, however, was empty. No sounds of movement or anything.

"…. What are you looking at?" The younger whispered, standing next to the knife wielder. Honestly, he hardly ever saw the older this serious. There was no answer though, like the entire place had frozen in time.

Suddenly, his breath got away from him. The mint hair chocked as he tried to catch his breath, back hitting the concrete floor hard. The older member's foot pressed against his chest- not painfully, but enough to keep him down. The feral smile on the fallen prince's face sent a chill down his spine, and he couldn't struggle back, eyes wide.

"S-Sen-"

"Say when." Bel hissed, voice hardly audible. Fran couldn't look at him, body going rigid.

'_He's going to kill me. He's going to rape me, and slit me throat… He's __**actually**__ going to kill me!'_ Oxygen was getting harder to obtain, minty green eyes looked past the figure looming above him in fear.

Then, there it was. Soft, anything but silent footsteps, the slight glimpse of a figure…. "When!"

The Storm turned, silver flashing as it flew and circled the unseen form. Several wires and knives captured the enemy, tightening around the first unseen body before digging into the flesh with a sick noise. As it fell heavily, the illusion fell with it, leaving behind a mangled corpse.

"Just a kid." Bel scoffed, moving off the younger to what was left of what looked like someone who couldn't be older than seven… He tugged the small blades from the opponent and shook his head; more in disappointment at the child's attempt than in any sort of pity.

"…. You knew there was an illusionist." Fran said, breathing quickly to get his lungs filled.

"And you didn't. You're the illusionist here, so pay attention. If you can't do that, you're useless to us."

**+Falter+**

"Would anyone even care if I died?" Fran asked, monotone as he played with the food in front of him.

"What?! Fran, that's awful, of course we'd care!" Lussuria nearly dropped the plate he was cleaning.

"Not just because it would make your job harder." Fran added with a slight glare.

"Fran!" The younger frowned at the tone. "How could you say such a thing? What would make you think such a thing?"

"… You're the only one who reacted like that…" Fran said softly, staring back at the remains of a pancake and syrup.

The Sun Guardian set the dish down, walking around the bar and pulling the younger close. "… We're a tough crowd baby, but don't think you're not important."

**+Falter+**

**I hope you like, I'm not trying to be repetitive. Anyway, more to come soon, you can all yell at my college for the lack or production at the moment. My apologizes. **


	10. Mixed

"**Silhouette"**

**Chapter 9**

** Chrisy cal****: Oh no, don't cry… I feel kinda bad now. But good writing brings emotions so….**

** ElusiveIllusions:**** You are correct.**

"**Mixed"**

**+Silhouette+**

"Watch it, rookie!" Fran snapped around a little too late at the sound of Squalo's voice. Within the next second he was down, glaring up at the grunt. It was amusing to see the surprise in his face, to know what the man saw. To him, Fran was literally sinking into the ground. In reality the mint haired just rolled out of the way, keeping an eye out and avoiding weary grunts of his whereabouts as he thought.

Teal eyes shifted up to the balcony above, feeling a bit triumphant to see the sharpened orbs looking to find him. He should be nervous; he was under a lot of pressure after all. However, the newly emptied syringe in his personal wastebasket was to thank for his absolute calm here.

He was currently on the outside training grounds, a large open area between the forest, the manor, and the stream running along the far end. Fran was surrounded, in a sense, by a group of hand selected grunts picked by Squalo – basically meaning that while they were strong, the swordsman wouldn't miss them if they were killed during the examination. It almost made the illusionist wonder if that was is goal.

What actually got to him were the stares from that balcony. While Squalo was watching intently, making mental notes and watching every move he made, the looks of his fellow comrades were putting him closer to the edge. He appreciated the smile Lussuria wore, possibly proud since he had helped the mint haired figure out some of the strategy to the new illusions; Levi just stood with his arms crossed and Belphegor wasn't even watching -his back was turned.

Then there were the amber eyes… Squalo said the boss wouldn't have even bothered, but the man had showed up. He looked bored on his chair, but the young illusionist could feel his gaze on him.

Fran pushed the thought away quickly, doing his best to ignore the fact he was very much being judged. Instead he walked into the center, mind focusing as he set the next illusion up.

_'Breath and concentrate…'_ It almost hurt being an illusionist. Sometimes people didn't think that you _literally_ had to use areas of your brain that most people would never touch. You had to create from nothing and make it so believable that another brain would go into a sensory overload and shut down, cave into the illusion. It didn't help when your mentor was unreliable and only taught you when you shared a prison together… then again, that was the point of the drug.

The headache that usually followed a powerful illusion didn't come as the apprentice made the ground shake. It didn't even start to get sore as he revealed himself and started opening the earth around him. The hardest part was the _heat_; inflicting a change in the air and forcing it into a subconscious reality. There was no pain to slow him down like there had been when he practiced with Lussuria.

When he opened his eyes he was met with a decimated group, only half of the fifty men and women standing and alive. How sad…

**+Mixed+**

"I can't tell if they're impressed with you, or angry at the grunts." The green haired man frowned, setting the tall glass of water next to the teen. "You sure you don't want anything else?"

Fran just shook his head, grumbling into his pillow as he sat up. It was the next afternoon as the exam had lasted late into the night; the remaining members after the first big illusions had been really smart and careful. What annoyed him was that they also had boxes – something he still didn't have the privilege of obtaining.

Needless to say, his muscles were aching and his head was pounding with a pain worse than any hangover would cause. Somehow the 'medicine' worked like stamina; it lasted by use, not by time like normal meds. Then again, he could be building a tolerance.

"Just make sure that fake prince doesn't show…" he sighed lightly, chugging the water down before curling back up in the blanket.

**+Mixed+**

He was slowly drawn from his sleep, teetering between the dream world and reality for a moment before realizing what was disturbing his slumber. Slender fingers were running through his hair, but the weight on his bed next to him wasn't enough to be the Sun Guardian.

"…Senpai…?" He peeked his eyes open; the room was already shrouded in darkness, the circlet illuminated by the filtered moonlight.

"Hey brat." It was a simply reply, the words too soft to hold any bite. It was… different. Then again, the blond really was unpredictable, so despite the atmosphere Fran prepared to fight him off should Bel try molesting him again. It didn't come, just the running of fingers through his hair.

"What are you doing here, Senpai?"

"I was going to tell you that shark-face and the boss were happy with your exam today."

"Really?" The mint hairs interest perked, sitting up just to be pushed back down by the older.

"Yeah. Xanxus thinks you're doing okay, and Squalo's going to start pushing our grunts harder."

"Oh… um… thank you senpai." He expected the blond to leave, but when several minutes passed and the Storm was still there, the illusionist shifted. "Senpai-?"

"Go back to sleep." Belphegor was a sadistic, proud and intelligent psychopath who liked to take out his anger and frustration out on the 'worthless replacement', but… Fran knew that even those types of people had their harmless moments.

"… Good night, senpai."

Even though he didn't like sharing that moment with him.

**+Mixed+**

_ "Congratulations, little one." Fran shifted as the older illusionist ran fingers through the mint locks. It felt different then what Bel was doing in the real world… He wasn't sure how though._

_ "Thank you, shishou." The younger just responded lightly. _

_ "Well, now that time has passed, I want you to keep the ring close. Don't show it yet, but when the time comes…"_

_ "How will I know when that will be?"_

_ "You'll know. Trust me; you'll be able to use it splendidly if you just hold out." _

_ "…Alright."_

_ "Keep training Fran. You're not doing as well as you should be by now."_

**+Mixed+**

**Yes, got 1,000 words in! So, sorry about the slow updates; college, work and a love life keep me busy. My own Fran needs attention.**

**Also, seriously… no reviews, no new chapters. It's hard enough to get inspiration for this; I really don't want the same two or three people reviewing. College, work, and having a little bit of a life with my girlfriend when she's in town take up a lot of time, not to mention I really do need to sleep more than I have been. It's not like anyone would miss this fanfiction by the looks of it if I put it on the backburner for a year or two. There are 29 of you who have this on Alerts and maybe only 1/3 of you ever said anything about this story, so thanks for that… Not like Viv or I try hard or anything.**

"**A nice soft chapter here, tinged with small nuggets that tantalize at what is to come. This is very much a transition chapter between larger events, however you kept it from being boring, meaningless fluff, as can be the danger with transition periods. The action scene at the beginning gave a nice jolt to the system, while not going into too much detail kept it from taking undue emphasis. Overall a great job, and as always, leaving us very excited to see the next chapter!"**

**-Vivacia18**


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